A visit to the Richmond gun show

Thousands showed up at the Richmond Raceway complex to participate in this year’s Richmond Gun Show last weekend.

Gun dealers utilized 800 tables across two basketball arena-sized buildings within the Raceway Complex to display their wares. Among the items for sale were handguns, rifles, shotguns, swords, tasers, ammunition, legal advice to help restore gun rights or create gun trusts and more.

One stall, occupied by members of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc., were passing out bright orange stickers reading “guns save lives” and asking passersby to sign up for their email list.

At one point, presidential hopeful Jim Gilmore said over the loudspeaker, “If I can’t get support here, where can I get it?”

Amidst the scattered applause that followed, there was a shout that sounded like “Go Trump,” which was followed by louder cheers.

“The possession or carrying of any weapon by any person, except a police officer, is prohibited on university property,” according to VCU’s Statement on Regulation Prohibiting Weapons on Campus.

The significance of the annual gun show, an event happening seven miles from campus, arguably bares significance in the wake of recent mass shootings, such as Paris, Umpqua Community College and Virginia Tech.

Wes Simon of The Stuart Simon Law Firm in Richmond, who was tabling at the gun show, said there is no rhyme or reason to school shootings.

“I don’t know that preventing people from owning helps,” Simon said. “I don’t believe in regulating those that do…a gun is a tool, you can do just as much damage with a hammer. It’s just more effective.”

While there is no discernable link between weapons purchased at gun shows and those used in the recent mass shootings, the ease of purchase at gun shows in Virginia is worth considering.

According to the Virginia State Police website, when purchasing a gun from a federally licensed firearms dealer, a buyer needs to provide two forms of government issued identification with matching addresses, one of which has a photo.

At this point, buyers must agree to have a background check, which screens for criminal history, wanted, missing person, and protective order lists, determinations of legal incompetence, and for involuntary commitments to mental institutions. This process can be called in or performed online and results are often instant.

While many vendors at gun shows qualify as firearm dealers, those who, according to section 54.1-4200 of the Virginia code of law, make occasional sales, exchanges, or purchases as collectors, or as a hobby, are not required to follow such procedures.

Instead, according to the Virginia State Police website, it is “recommended that you safeguard information pertaining to the transaction such as the date the firearm was sold, the complete name and address of the buyer, and the make, model and serial number of the firearm.”

With so many private purchases, it is very difficult for law enforcement to ensure that such measures are taken.

While it is illegal to sell to a resident of another state, or to people under the age of 18 for shotguns and rifles — 21 for pistols — this too is difficult to enforce for sales made by private individuals, regardless whether this occurs at a gun show or elsewhere.

According to the state police website, in the event of a crime, “trace of the firearm will determine the licensed dealer who last sold the firearm and will identify the last buyer of the firearm.”

At that point the weapon could have legally passed hands, numerous times, without record.

Members of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. seem concerned that this law may change.

“The days of selling a gun to a friend or acquaintance in your own living room, or anywhere except at a gun dealer’s place of business during normal business hours, would be over,” according to a pamphlet distributed at the gun show by the VCDL, if these rules were changed.

“Universal background check laws criminalize all non-dealer private gun-transfers, lead to registration, compliance inspections, and ultimately to confiscation,” continues the pamphlet.

Article by: Matt Chaney, Contributing Writer

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